SpaceX celebrated the announcement of a Seattle-area satellite operation by lighting up its logo at Fisher Pavilion at Seattle Center. (GeekWire photo)

SpaceX has laid out further details about a 4,425-satellite communications network that’s expected to provide global broadband internet access, with its Seattle-area office playing a key role in its development.

In the technical information that accompanied its application, SpaceX said it would start commercial broadband service with 800 satellites. That service would cover areas of the globe from 15 degrees north to 60 degrees north, and from 15 degrees south to 60 degrees south. That leaves out some portions of Alaska, which would require a temporary waiver from the FCC.

SpaceX’s Redmond office is the center for its satellite operations. (GeekWire photo by Kevin Lisota)

Eventually, the network would grow to 4,425 satellites, transmitting in the Ku and Ka frequency bands.

“Once fully deployed, the SpaceX system will pass over virtually all parts of the Earth’s surface and therefore, in principle, have the ability to provide ubiquitous global service,” SpaceX said.

The satellites would orbit the planet at altitudes ranging from 714 to 823 miles (1,150 to 1,325 kilometers) – well above the International Space Station, but well below geostationary satellites. SpaceX said it would follow federal guidelines to mitigate orbital debris.

Each satellite would weigh 850 pounds (386 kilograms) and measure 13 by 6 by 4 feet (4 by 1.8 by 1.2 meters), plus solar arrays, SpaceX said. Operating lifetime was estimated at five to seven years per satellite.

SpaceX still has to get approval for network operations from the FCC as well as the International Telecommunication Union. The ITU filings are being made on SpaceX’s behalf by the U.S. government (under the name USASAT NGSO-3) and the Norwegian government (as STEAM).

Last year the California-based company established an office in Redmond, Wash., to focus on the satellite project. When SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced the project in Seattle, he said as many as 1,000 employees could eventually be working in Redmond.

Back then, Musk estimated that it’d take about five years and $10 billion to get the satellite project off the ground.